Stop Junk Mail. Be Eco Friendly. Do Good. The GreenDimes Blog

GARDENS & GOLF COURSES

In a country built on symbolism, the great American manicured lawn has been synonymous with white picket fences, picture perfect mansion houses, a handsome parked car in the driveway and more often than not, a dog named Roger.

A quick history of the lawn:

1888 – less than a dozen golfers in the US
1975 – 14 million Americans played on 11,000 golf courses across the country
1984 – the US used more synthetic chemical fertilizer than India applied to their food crops
1964 – estimated the amount Americans invested in the American law was almost the same as in foreign military assistance
1989 – more than 500 million people made a living from garden lawn maintence and turf grass was a $25 billion industry

In fact, last year Donald Trump requested to build a new $2bn resort in Scotland along unspoilt coastline on Menie Estate, 15 miles north of Aberdeen, with a pair of 18-hole courses, a luxurious 450-bedroom hotel, 950 vacation homes, 36 golf villas and 500 upscale homes. Cronies in the oil and hotelier industries, as well as business leaders, feverishly supported his case, highlighting it as a driving force for future prosperity in the rural north-east of Scotland after oil runs out.  Proud of his Scottish roots, Trump was convinced his endeavours would do much to complete environmental prosperity  primarly because of the scale of his investment, but local fishermen such as Michael Forbes, an example of how village life is threatened as a result of macro economic development was against Trump's ambush on natural territory.

Seven species of endangered birds listed on the conservation Red List live here – environmentalists, including The Scottish Wildlife Trust, argue that if the golf course had been built, 125-mile sandy beach, among the Top 5 sand dunes in the UK, would have been destroyed.  Another major concern was the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers to maintain the stretches of golf land.  To relief, Trump's request was rejected and the 'Go away Trump' sign has been taken down.

Back on garden grass, award-winning directors Isaac Brown and Eric Flagg’s documentary Gimme Green goes on a journey across Washington, New York Maryland, Arizona, California and Florida to uncover a comical perspective on the gravity the average American places on the lawn. Watch the trailer here

It appears the American dream has stifled our reasonings to not only involve getting bigger fridges and flat screen TVs, but an increased application of the worse kind - 'keeping up with the Jones'.  It's the showbusiness game of maintaining one's image to the neighbourhood and ultimately society that the household is doing well, the breadwinner can afford the pesticide payments and beautiful housewives in expensive shoes can walk across the lawn.  Trump thought he was helping his Scottish neighbours by providing hundreds of jobs, but it was not such a selfless act, no?

The game of Marketing & PR started a long time ago - in the home.

LEAN, GREEN, GETTING HEALTHY SCHEME

Breaking bread at a table full of strangers will have you cruising home with a new set of phone numbers for brunch get-togethers in the coming weeks. 

Yet with Winter having lost the battle to Spring’s bountiful arrival, there is chatter about getting healthy and losing inches on the hips you’ve found happened from persistent hibernating.

The Daily Green has outlined a 30 day guide to improving the ‘Greeness’ in your diet and they kick-start the daunting prospect for the unruly who are hesitant to partake with (DRUM ROLL PLEASE) – pouring a glass of organic wine.  The key to changing your dietary habits is not just cutting out the sugars and fats but improving the quality of your intake of various foods.  They request you to rejoice in this new stage of organic eating by sipping on wine that was grown without pesticides, using grapes grown on an organic farm and to embrace the foods which are sustainable for the planet and for your body.

Other steps listed include purging your pantry of bad foods, buying the best olive oil to cook with, facing the fact that artificial sweeteners are bad and renting ‘Fast Food Nation’ as a reminder of the effects of lazy eating.

View the full guide here

TWO SIDES OF THE COIN

Eva Wiseman from the Observer knows the celebrity is a brand with an in-house PR consultant, sales directors and accountants who will tell you whether the red dress you wore on the red carpet will make your stocks plummet or have you buying a new car. 

Here with all her cynical humour, she devours the eco-celebrity:

“The difference between your basic Y2K celebrity and the new improved eco-celeb is that the new one has her privates papped getting out of a Prius. Make a note. If you’re just starting out on the road to eco-stardom, the first step is to go to The Ivy and loudly order tap water. Don’t look up to check for the gentle buzz of BlackBerries whizzing your new status to international gossip bloggers. Keep your head buried in a plate of fair-trade kale. Don’t worry, it’s started. Next up, a cause. While the big guns, DiCaprio and Depp, can afford to align themselves with the A-list needies, like ‘Africa’ and the ‘Ozone layer’, you’ll start by becoming the face of the lido at the bottom of your road. ‘New earth-killing leisure centre in Barnet?’ says the banner you’ll hold on the front page of your local paper, ‘Not in my name!’ To cement your standing, it’s important to get arrested - chain yourself to a tree, throw paint at a Tesco sign, that sort of thing. And crucially, in your mugshot, wear pleather.”

On the other side of the fence, is Billboard magazine who back in their March 2008 issue, went page to page on Green issues in the industry, saying, “The Top 10 green musician activists from the past year were chosen by overall positive impact on the environment; the extent to which the artist integrates a green approach into all aspects of his/her career; perceived sacrifice of choices; and trailblazing nature/originality of ideas.”

Here are their Top 10 Green artists starting from the bottom to the top:

10. The Roots
9. Missy Higgins
8. Radiohead
7. Serj Tankian
6. Pearl Jam
5. K.T Tunstall
4. Dave Matthews Band
3. Mana
2. Willie Nelson
1. Jack Johnson

Artists were nominated on their holistic approach to living a Green existence, down to how they eat local or oganic food, whether they use bio-diesel fuel in their and their contributions to raising funds for eco-causes. 

Guess its up to you who/what you want to believe.